ing, without
any idea of where he'd bring up. Cocky Robin and Mr. Jay were roosting
quite near the ground, where they could keep an eye out for foolish
worms which might happen that way, and Mr. Turtle swept them off the
branch like ninepins, knocking the two senseless.

"Mr. Jay let out a screech as he fell, and Jimmy, who couldn't seem to
understand how hard he was swinging old Slowly, turned the other way
like a flash, Mr. Turtle hitting Bobby Coon's mother such a clip on
the head that I thought for certain she was dead. Then Mr. Crow hopped
down to tell Slowly to let up, when Jimmy turned again, and over the
old fellow went like the down of a thistle.

"I really haven't the time to tell you all that happened before old
Slowly could be made to understand that he had carried out his part of
the plot and a little more. Jimmy had regularly lost his head, what
with the pain caused by Mr. Turtle's jaws, together with the uproar
that began when he first appeared, and kept swinging around and around
like a windmill that has suddenly gone crazy, with old Slowly flying
out at the end of his tail knocking down everything and everybody in
his way.

"It seemed as if Mr. Turtle must have been splintered into little
bits, for whatever he struck was hit hard; but yet he really seemed to
enjoy it, and when the rumpus was over the old fellow acted as if he
were quite disappointed at having the circus over so soon.

"If you'll believe me, fully seven out of every ten of the club
members had been knocked over from one to three times before we got
any sense into Jimmy's wild head, and those who hadn't already come to
harm were roosting mighty high, as if afraid that Slowly might lose
his grip and come sailing up among the branches, as he would have done
if any part of Jimmy's tail had come off suddenly. It didn't seem to
me as if I had any call to mix up in the show, even though the
president kept singing out for me to jump in and catch the crazy
hedgehog, for when you find me mixing myself up with a lot of quills
that are moving around as Jimmy's were then you'll catch Butcher
Weasel asleep.

"There's no telling how long the performance would have lasted if
Senator Bear, who had been awakened by the uproar, hadn't come up just
when he did, and he got there in time to have old Slowly strike him
fairly on the side; but it takes quite a blow to knock the Senator
out, and Jimmy didn't have time enough to swing around again before
Mr